Traversing device



Dec. 11, 1962 R. w. Cl llDGEY, JR., ETAL 3,067,961

TRAVERSING DEVICE Filed Jan. 21, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS W. CHIDGEY, JR. C.M. IRWIN w MA ATTORNEY Dec. 11, 1962 R. w. CHIDGEY, JR., ETAL 3,067,961

TRAVERSING DEVICE Filed Jan. 21, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS C. M. IR W I N max. mg.

ATTORN EY R.W. CHIDGEY,JR.

United States Efii'ilflbl Patented Dec. 1 1, 1952 5,067,961 TRAVERSING DEVHCE Ronald W. Chidgey, '12, and Claude M. Irwin, Pensacola, Fla., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Monsanto Chemical Qompany, a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 21, 1960, Ser. No. 3,765 1 Claim. (Cl. 242-263) This invention relates to traversing devices and more particularly to devices for traversing a yarn at a high speed.

In yarn traversing devices used in the past, one of the disadvantages has been that the traversing speed of the yarn is decreased near the ends of the traversing stroke, causing a buildup of yarn at the ends of a package being wound onto a bobbin. Also, the yarn traversing devices used in the past have been incapable of high traversing speeds. When a synthetic yarn is wound on a bobbin by a device having these disadvantages, the yarn wound into tapered ends of the package is stressed in such a manner that its physical characteristics are changed. It is believed these changes are caused by a reorientation of molecules in the fiber or a change in denier resulting from shrinkage of the yarn, it being well known that a drawn thermoplastic fiber tends to shrink. When this yarn is made up into a fabric, there are streaks in the fabric wherever the yarn from the tapered ends of the package is situated in the fabric. These streaks, which are commonly referred to as pirn taper barre, make the fabric unsalable. In order to eliminate this barre, the weaver must reprocess the yarn before using it. This is, of course, very undesirable. With this problem in mind, one of the objects of this invention is to provide a novel and improved device for traversing yarn being wound onto a bobbin.

Another object of this invention is to provide a yarn traversing device having a uniform traversing speed throughout the length of the traversing stroke.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device for traversing a yarn at a uniform speed and in strokes which decrease in length as the yarn is wound into a package.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a traversing mechanism wherein a traversing block is alternately connected to difierent spans of a moving belt traveling in different directions so as to rapidly reciprocate the block.

One of the embodiments of this invention contemplates a traversing mechanism wherein a traversing block carrying a ring traveler is adapted to alternately grip different spans of a moving belt to reciprocate the block. A gripper block movably mounted in the traversing block is cammed first in one direction to grip one span of the belt and then in the other direction to grip the other span of the belt. The two spans of the belt are traveling in opposite directions and at a uniform speed so that the traversing block is reciprocated at a high speed without a decrease in traversing speed near the end of the traversing stroke.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent when the following detailed description is read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a device embodying the principles of the invention showing the relationship of the various elements of the device;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIGURE 1 showing a gripper block which cooperates with the traversing block to grip one side of the moving belt; and

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 3 s of FIGURE 2 showing that part of the device which actuates the gripper block.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, a frame 11 tached to the frame 11. A gripper block 30 slidably mounted in a rectangular groove in the traversing block 25 is providedwith vertical grooves 31 and 32 through which'the two spans of the belt 18 pass. The gripper block 34 is adapted to be moved alternately to the left to grip the left span of the belt 18 and then to the right to' grip the right span of the belt. The belt 18 is driven in such a way that the left span travels downward while the right span travels upward. From this it can be seen that when the gripper block 30 is moved to the left to grip the left span of the belt (FIGURES 2 and 3), the traversing mechanism moves downward, and when the gripper block is moved to the right to grip the right span of the belt 18, the traversing mechanism is moved upward. This traverses the traveler 22 to distribute the yarn being wound onto the bobbin 23 positioned concentrically with in the ring 22.

A bar 35 slidably mounted in a groove 36 in the traversing block 25 carries a ball bearing 37 of a Wellknown type which is positioned in a canted groove 38 in the gripper block 30. The bar 35 is secured to a rod 40 connected to a piston (not shown) of an air cylinder 41. The air cylinder 41 is secured to a bracket 42 which is in turn attached by bolts 43 (FIGURE 3) to the traversing block 25. When the air cylinder 41 is actuated to elevate the bar 35, the bearing 37 moves upward in the canted groove 38 to cam the gripper block 30 to theleft, as shown in the drawings, and thereby secure the traversing mechanism 21 to the left span of the belt 18. Conversely, when the air cylinder 41 is actuated to move the bar 35 downward, the bearing 37 cams the gripper block 30 to the right to grip the right span of the belt 18, thereby causing the traversing mechanism to move upward.

A lower striker plate 45 and an upper striker plate 46 slidably mounted on the guide rods 26 and 27 serve to reverse the direction of travel of the traversing mechanism 21 by controlling a valve 48 secured to and carried by the traversing mechanism. The valve 48 is provided with a stem having an upper portion 49 and a lower portion 5d. When the traversing mechanism 21 nears the lower striker plate 45, the lower portion 51; of the valve stem engages the striker plate 45 and is stopped. Upon further downward movement of the traversing mechanism 21, the valve stem is moved upward in the valve 4-8. When this occurs, compressed air flows from a source 59 (FIGURE 1) through an inlet tube 60 connected to the valve 48, through the valve 48 and a tube 61 to the air cylinder 41 for moving the block 35 downward. This earns the gripper block 30 to the right to grip the right span of the belt 18 for moving the traversing mechanism 21 upward. When the traversing mechanism 21 nears the upper striker plate 46, the upper portion 49 of the valve stem engages and is stopped by the upper striker plate 46. Upon further movement of the traversing mechanism 21, the valve stem is moved downward relative to the valve 43. This directs compressed air through the inlet tube 60 and a tube 62 to the air cylinder 41 for moving the bar 35 upward. Upward movement of the bar 35 earns the gripper block 30 to the left so that the left span of the belt 18 is gripped between the traversing block 25 and the gripper block 30. In this manner, the traversing mechanism is reciprocated between the striker plates 45 and 46.

In order to form a yarn package having tapered ends, it is necessary to slowly decrease the length of the traversing stroke. This is accomplished by moving the striker plates 45 and 46 toward each other as the yarn package is wound. Lower collars 65 and 66 adjustably secured to the guide rods 26 and 27 determine the starting position of the lower striker plate 45. Upper collars 69 and 70 adjustably secured to the guide rods 26 and 27 determine the starting position of the upper striker plate 46, the striker plates being in engagement with the collars at the start of a winding operation. A screw 71 having opposite ends oppositely threaded is rotated through the gear box 12 and is connected to the striker plates 45 and 46 for moving these plates slowly toward each other during the Winding operation to provide tapered ends on the yarn package.

The striker plates 45 and 46 are connected to the screw 71 by spring loaded levers 75 having jaws 76 adapted to mesh with the threads on the screw 71. The levers associated with the lower striker plate 45 are on the lower side of this plate and, consequently, do not appear in the drawings. By manually operating the levers 75, the jaws 76 may be opened to disengage the striker plates from the screw 71 so that the lower striker plate can be manually moved downward into engagement with the lower collars 65 and 66 and the upper striker plate can be manually raised into engagement with the upper collars 69 and 70.

In operating the device to wind a yarn onto a bobbin, the lower striker plate is manually moved into engagement with the lower collars 65 and 66 and the upper striker plate 46 is manually moved into engagement with the upper collars 69 and 70. The yarn is then threaded through a ring traveler (not shown) of a well-known type mounted on the ring 22 and connected to the rotating bobbin. The motor 13 is then started to rotate the screw 71 at a fairly low speed and to drive the belt 18 at a high speed. As the belt 18 is driven, the left span thereof travels downward while the right span travels upward, parallel to the left span. Compressed air is admitted through the valve 48 from the source 59 to the air cylinder 41 to force the bar 35 upward so that the gripper block 30 is cammed to the left to secure the traversing mechanism 21 to the left span of the belt 18, as best illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3. This carries the traversing mechanism 21 downward.

As the traversing mechanism 21 nears the lower striker plate 45, the lower portion 56 of the valve stem engages the plate 45, thereby operating the valve 48 so that the air cylinder 41 moves the bar 35 downward to cam the gripper block 30 against the right span of the belt 18. This carries the traversing mechanism 21 upward. The upper striker plate 46 stops the valve stem to again reverse the direction of movement of the traversing mechanism 21. In this manner, the traversing mechanism 21 is reciprocated to form a yarn package.

During the formation of the package, the screw 71 is rotated slowly to move the striker plates 45 and 46 toward each other. Since the plates 45 and 46 are continuously moved toward each other during the winding operation, the traversing stroke of the ring 22 is continuously shortened, thereby forming a yarn package having tapered ends. When the yarn package is completed, it is removed and an empty bobbin is positioned within the ring 22 and the above procedure is repeated. Inasmuch as the device traverses the yarn at a high and uniform'speed, pirn taper barre is eliminated.

It is to be understood that the device described herein represents but one embodiment of the invention, and many other embodiments may be contemplated without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

A device for winding yarn onto a rotating bobbin, comprising a frame, a traversing block slidably mounted on the frame in a direction parallel to the axis of the rotating bobbin, a ring carried by the traversing block for guiding yarn onto the rotating bobbin, said traversing block having a rectangular groove parallel to the axis of the bobbin, a pair of pulleys mounted on the frame, a belt mounted on the pulleys and having a pair of spans passing through said rectangular groove parallel to said axis, a gripper block slidably mounted in the rectangular groove between the spans of the belt for cooperating with the traversing block to alternately grip said spans and thereby secure the traversing block alternately to said spans, said gripper block having a canted groove across one side thereof, a bar slidably mounted between the traversing block and the gripper block adjacent to said canted groove, an element secured to the bar and positioned in said canted groove for camming the gripper block into cooperation with the traversing block when the bar is moved, a fluid cylinder mounted on the traversing block and connected to the bar for moving said bar, a valve mounted on the traversing block and connected to the fluid cylinder, said valve having an elongated stern extending on opposite sides of the traversing block, a fluid source connected to the valve, a pair of striker plates slidably mounted on the frame on opposite sides of the traversing block for engaging and moving the valve stem to actuate the fluid cylinder and thereby reverse the direction of travel of the traversing block, and means on the frame for moving the striker plates toward each other as the traversing block is reciprocated.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 479,297 McCarthy July 19, 1892 528,412 Bryant Oct. 30, 1894 1,758,283 Gilmore et al May 13, 1930 2,764,363 Stammwitz Sept. 25, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 413,448 Italy Apr. 23, 1946 17,065 Netherlands Feb. 15, 1928 

